Long live the spoof

As you are probably aware, the TV ad game is a pretty sophisticated beast these days. Viewers are expected to interact, follow intricate treasure hunts, recognise ongoing themes and narrative structures, press the red button and then at least go to the website. The days of viewers being expected to swallow piece-to-camera testimonials and comparison tests are long dead and buried, however there is one TV ad trend that has stood the test of time and still strides on healthily even now - the good old fashioned spoof.

From narratives, to generic conventions, famous movie scenes to other TVC’s – the spoof ad has targeted everything and conquered them all with a big fat tongue lodged in its cheek.

Even the mighty Superbowl wasn’t safe this year...

In fact, it’s become apparent in the ad world that you haven’t really made a spectacular execution until it has been spoofed by someone else.

But it appears that it’s not just the big-player major league ads that are targeted by sarcastic creatives out there… In an act that echoes the big school bully having a pop at the quiet geek - the little league infomercial minnows are subjected to bigger brands having a pop at their hopelessness.

But lucky for you guys, we have been spending a lot of time with part-time comedian Jimmy Carr, and a bunch of channel 4 Z-list celebs (take a bow Alex Zane) recounting our favorite ad-spoofs. This inspired us to put together our top ten spoof-classics from the Reel Vaults – click here to enjoy.
(And what’s even better, the list is without any of the pointless celebrity “insight” and them talking about why it made them laugh. Or not.)

NewsReel 28/02/08

Remember to keep sending in all your adland news - even if it is just shameless self promotion - and we'll do our best to feature it here. Please send all press releases or anything that could fall under the banner of news to sam@thereel.net.

Ahoy! It’s Coy!
Mark Denton achieved a lot through Therapy – shooting a multitude of commercials, publishing a magazine, and a book, founding an award-winning design company and masterminding the re-launch of the Creative Circle – but the time has come for him to be discharged and go all Coy!, so he has founded Coy! Communications along with long-term producer Sara Cummins, after an amicable split with Therapy Films other partners Malcolm Venville and Guy Manwaring.

Ex-Therapy directors Simon Levene and Michael Baldwin kick-off the directorial roster of the new company and Kelly Cook joins as Head of Sales & Marketing.

Focus on VW’s new website

Prime Focus have proudly announced the completion of nearly a year’s work on the new Volkswagen UK website. The London post-production house has finally delivered the astonishing 16,000 individual CGI assets which have been used by Tribal DDB to build the new site. The end result of this highly complicated and too-lengthy-to-fully-discuss-here process is an attractive, cutting-edge and actually quite fun website that allows customers to select and view 17 different Volkswagen models, and then to specify each model with all of its available variations, bringing web design and moving-image post-production yet another step closer together.

A Mars a day...
We at The Reel, like a lot of you guys, get nostalgic about old ads, strap lines and jingles, so we thought it was worth a mention that Abbott Mead Vickers BBDO is bringing back the old ‘A Mars a day helps you work, rest and play' strap line which was pulled in 1995. It has, however, been given a noughties twist; now a new generation will simply be saying ‘work, rest, play’ as they tuck into the first bite of the chocolate, nougat and caramel goodness. The new spot, featuring monks dancing to House of Pain’s ‘Jump Around’ will air on 2nd March, so look out for it on The Reel soon. For fellow fans of the old campaign, see below:



Mad Cow
Terence Stevens-Prior has joined Mad Cow’s roster for worldwide representation. Stevens-Prior has been a director since 1996, when he moved over from his previous incarnate as an agency creative. The New Zealand-born helmer left Mustard for Mad Cow, and has previously shot ads for clients such as Pepsi, Carlsberg and Toyota.

Lion's New Den
Only recently established, London-based production company Red Lion have made the bold move of opening up their very own art department. The new division called Agitate will pave the way for filmmaking artists to move into the big bad world of commercials production. The opening line-up consists of Jordan Baseman, who has exhibited his work at the Serpentine Gallery, Austrian Goldsmiths, RCA and Vienna Academy of Fine Art graduate Ursula Meyer, Emily Richardson, who has created a series of 'time lapse portraits' that question our relationship to the landscape; CG specialist Claude Chabot, and toy-filmer Stuart Croft.